DCH’s newest technology speeds up cancer treatment

Wednesday

Sep 26, 2012 at 12:03 AM

TUSCALOOSA | It used to take about 30 minutes for patients with prostate cancer to receive radiation therapy at DCH Regional Medical Center. Now, with the help of new technology, it takes only one to two minutes.

By Lydia Seabol AvantStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | It used to take about 30 minutes for patients with prostate cancer to receive radiation therapy at DCH Regional Medical Center. Now, with the help of new technology, it takes only one to two minutes. About three months ago, the DCH Cancer Center started using RapidArc — a type of image-guided, intensity modulated radiation therapy. While it is now used solely for prostate cancer treatment, it will soon be used for head and neck cancers and possibly other types of cancers, said Dr. Curtis Tucker, a radiation oncologist at DCH. “We essentially took a big step forward,” he said. Before, patients had to lie perfectly still for long periods of time during radiation treatment, and sometimes that meant that the treatment wasn’t as exact, Tucker said.“It was a very exact treatment that became inexact if the patient moved,” Tucker said.But with RapidArc, a 9-foot-tall machine goes completely around a patient one or two times, delivering radiation treatment the entire time and targeting a very precise area. Clinicians use computer-generated images to plan and deliver tightly focused radiation to cancerous tumors. Local photographer Crosby Thomley just finished up RapidArc treatment of his prostate cancer. He went in for daily treatment for 42 days. Thomley said the treatment was relatively easy, because it was so quick. “I think the big thing is that it’s not a chore to go in, other than going every morning,” he said. “Usually, it’s a real quick visit, and it’s good because you don’t have to worry about moving. Even I can lay still for five minutes.’ ”Thomley said he is now waiting to learn the results of his treatment, and whether it was enough to stop his early stage cancer. Because the RapidArc radiation treatment time is done in a few minutes, it’s easier for the patient to remain still and easier to be more exact with the treatment, Tucker said. Unlike the old technology, the RapidArc spares more of the healthy tissue around the tumor, he said.“I think that, with time, this will become the standard (treatment) for 50 percent of cancers,” Tucker said. “It will sweep across the country.”The DCH Cancer Center is the only facility in West Alabama that has the RapidArc, he said. While RapidArc will be used for head and neck cancers next, it will also likely be used later for brain tumors, pancreatic cancer and cancers of the spine, he said. It’s particularly useful for giving radiation to a tumor that needs a high degree of focal treatment, he said.